To get featured in Bloomberg, TechCrunch or Business Insider, you need a story with genuine news value — not a press release — and either the time to research and pitch journalists yourself, or a pay-on-results PR partner who already has relationships at these outlets and charges nothing until coverage is confirmed.
This guide explains how each publication operates, what their journalists look for, and why the traditional retainer model makes tier-1 coverage unnecessarily expensive for most founders.
Why Do Bloomberg, TechCrunch and Business Insider Matter?
These three outlets sit at the top of the business and technology media hierarchy. A single placement in any of them creates compounding value:
- Bloomberg reaches over 100 million monthly users and carries a Domain Authority of 94, making it one of the most authoritative business publications globally. A Bloomberg mention signals credibility to investors, enterprise buyers, and other journalists.
- TechCrunch reaches over 12 million unique visitors per month and has been the launchpad for countless startups. Its audience includes VCs, founders, and tech industry decision-makers.
- Business Insider attracts over 56 million monthly visits and maintains a Domain Authority of 94. It covers a broad range of business, finance, and technology topics with a large mainstream audience.
Beyond direct traffic, these placements generate high-authority backlinks that improve your search rankings, and they are increasingly cited by AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity when users ask about companies in your space.
Note: Most founders underestimate how much journalist relationships matter at this level. If you want to skip the learning curve, book a call with Place & Pay to discuss whether your story is a fit. You pay nothing until a placement is confirmed.
How Does Bloomberg Coverage Work?
Bloomberg is a financial news powerhouse. Its journalists cover markets, companies, and economic trends with a focus on data-driven reporting. Bloomberg does not operate a contributor network in the same way as Forbes or Business Insider — most coverage comes from staff journalists.
What Bloomberg journalists look for
Bloomberg writers prioritise stories with:
- Market-moving data or insights — original research, proprietary data, or analysis that shifts understanding of an industry
- Broad relevance — stories that affect investors, markets, or entire sectors, not just individual companies
- Timely hooks — connections to breaking news, regulatory changes, or macroeconomic trends
A pitch that works at Forbes ("here's an interesting founder story") often fails at Bloomberg unless it connects to something larger — a market shift, a regulatory development, or a trend with investment implications.
How to pitch Bloomberg
Bloomberg accepts tips via [email protected], but cold pitches have a low success rate. Journalists receive dozens of pitches daily, and the average response rate across all PR pitches is just 3.43%, according to analysis of over 400,000 pitches.
The most effective approach is to:
- Identify journalists who cover your sector specifically
- Read their recent articles to understand their angle
- Craft a pitch that leads with the broader story, not your company
- Offer exclusive data or access that makes the story worth their time
How Does TechCrunch Coverage Work?
TechCrunch is the most coveted startup publication in the world — and also one of the most misunderstood.
The TechCrunch pay-for-placement ban
In November 2012, TechCrunch published an explicit article titled "You Can't Put A Price Tag On A TechCrunch Post." The editorial team had discovered a PR firm charging startups $750 to "get a post on TechCrunch" and responded by banning that firm permanently.
The article stated: "Startups and investors, you shouldn't be paying for TC articles, or any press coverage for that matter, you should be paying for the help with your message and communications, which, if you have a good and/or compelling product, might result in more coverage."
This policy remains in effect. Any PR firm that promises pay-per-placement TechCrunch coverage is either misrepresenting what they do or risking blacklisting.
Note: This is why Place & Pay does not include TechCrunch in its pay-per-placement offering. We can help with earned TechCrunch coverage through traditional outreach, but it cannot be transactionally guaranteed. Our guaranteed placements focus on outlets where editorial and commercial models coexist transparently.
What TechCrunch journalists look for
TechCrunch covers:
- Product launches — especially from funded startups with novel technology
- Funding announcements — particularly Series A and above with notable investors
- Founder stories — counterintuitive insights, unconventional paths, or lessons learned
- Industry trends — analysis from operators with unique vantage points
The key is newsworthiness. A "we launched a feature" announcement rarely qualifies. A "we analysed 10,000 user behaviour patterns and discovered something unexpected about how SMBs adopt AI" angle might.
How to pitch TechCrunch
TechCrunch journalists are active on Twitter/X and often public about what they are working on. Research recent articles in your category, find the writer who covers your space, and send a concise pitch:
- Subject line: specific, not generic ("AI adoption data from 10,000 SMBs" not "startup story")
- First sentence: the hook, not your bio
- Length: under 200 words
- Include: a link to your product, one proof point, and an offer to talk
How Does Business Insider Coverage Work?
Business Insider operates a contributor programme alongside staff journalism. This creates multiple pathways to coverage — but also requires understanding which type of placement you are pursuing.
Staff coverage vs contributor articles
- Staff-written articles are produced by Business Insider journalists. These are earned through pitching, carry full editorial credibility, and are harder to secure.
- Contributor articles are written by external writers who have been vetted by Business Insider. These can be pitched directly to contributors, but must still meet editorial standards.
Business Insider's contributor guidelines explicitly state: "Contributor articles must be original and exclusive to Business Insider. We do not accept promotional or sponsored posts."
What Business Insider journalists look for
Business Insider covers a broad range of topics: careers, finance, technology, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle. Strong pitches include:
- Data-driven insights about workplace trends, consumer behaviour, or industry shifts
- Contrarian takes on widely held assumptions
- Practical advice grounded in real experience
- News hooks tied to current events or cultural moments
How to pitch Business Insider
Research contributors who write in your niche. Many are active on LinkedIn and open to pitches. Focus on offering a story their readers will find valuable — not a company profile disguised as thought leadership.
How Do You Choose the Right Publication?
Not every story belongs in every outlet. The right target depends on your goals:
| Goal | Best outlet | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Investor credibility | Bloomberg | Financial audience, market-focused coverage |
| Startup ecosystem visibility | TechCrunch | VC and founder readership, product-focused |
| Mainstream business audience | Business Insider | Large reach, broad topic coverage |
| SEO and backlinks | Any tier-1 outlet | All three have DA 92-94 |
If your goal is to support a fundraise, Bloomberg or a financial publication may carry more weight with investors. If you are launching a consumer product, Business Insider's mainstream reach may be more valuable. If you are building in a technical niche, TechCrunch's audience may be more relevant.
What Does a Tier-1 Media Campaign Cost?
Traditional PR agencies charge monthly retainers regardless of outcome. For tier-1 media like Bloomberg, TechCrunch, and Business Insider, retainers typically range from $10,000 to $50,000+ per month — often with 3-6 month minimums.
This means you could spend $30,000 to $150,000 or more before a single article publishes. If coverage never materialises, the money is gone.
The alternative is a pay-on-results model:
| Traditional PR Retainer | Place & Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $10,000–$50,000+/month | €0 |
| Minimum term | 3–6 months | None |
| Payment trigger | Monthly, regardless of results | Only after publication |
| Time to placement | 3–6 months | 5–7 days |
| Risk if no coverage | You still pay | You pay nothing |
This structure is particularly suited for founders who:
- Cannot justify $10k+/month in PR burn
- Have been burned by retainer agencies before
- Need coverage within a specific window (fundraise, launch, conference)
At Place & Pay, we operate on this model because we believe PR risk should sit with the agency, not the founder. 99% of clients we accept get placed — which is why we are selective about who we take on. See our pricing page for current rates by publication tier.
What Does Real Tier-1 Coverage Look Like?
A B2B software founder came to us six weeks before their Series A. Their traction was strong, but their digital footprint was thin. Their lead investor had raised concerns about brand visibility.
We identified that their usage data revealed a counterintuitive trend about enterprise adoption patterns — a story with broader market implications beyond their company. We built a pitch around that insight and targeted a journalist at a tier-1 business publication who regularly covers enterprise software.
The article published five days before their final investor meeting. The round closed at their target valuation.
They paid nothing until the article was live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you pay to get featured in TechCrunch?
No. TechCrunch explicitly banned pay-for-placement PR in 2012 and will blacklist PR firms that charge per article. TechCrunch coverage is earned through editorial merit — a compelling story pitched to the right journalist.
How hard is it to get featured in Bloomberg?
Bloomberg is one of the most competitive business publications globally, reaching over 100 million monthly users. Success requires a genuinely newsworthy story with broad market relevance, not just a company announcement. Most founders work with PR professionals who have existing Bloomberg relationships.
Does Business Insider accept sponsored posts?
Business Insider does not accept promotional or sponsored contributor posts. Their contributor guidelines explicitly state that articles must be original, exclusive, and editorial in nature. Coverage is earned through pitching, not purchased.
What is the best approach for tier-1 media coverage?
The most effective approach is to work with a PR partner who has established relationships at tier-1 outlets and operates on a pay-on-results basis — you pay only when coverage is confirmed and live. This aligns incentives and removes retainer risk.
How long does it take to get featured in major publications?
With traditional PR retainers, expect 3–6 months before any coverage materialises. With a performance-based PR service, placement can happen in 5–7 days once a story is accepted — because you only work with partners who are confident in their ability to deliver.
Ready to Pursue Tier-1 Media Coverage?
Getting featured in Bloomberg, TechCrunch, or Business Insider is achievable — but the traditional retainer model makes it expensive and risky for most founders. A pay-on-results approach removes the upfront cost and aligns your agency's incentives with your outcomes.
Book a call with Place & Pay to discuss your story and whether it is a fit for tier-1 media placement. You will speak with someone who handles journalist relationships directly — not a sales representative.
No retainer. No monthly fees. You pay only when the article is live.
Sources
- "Bloomberg reaches over 100 million monthly users" — Press Gazette, Bloomberg Media reports growing subs, advertising
- "TechCrunch reaches over 12 million unique visitors per month" — Yale Office of Career Strategy, TechCrunch profile
- "Business Insider attracts over 56 million monthly visits" — Semrush, businessinsider.com Traffic Analytics
- "Bloomberg Domain Authority 94" — Digital Third Coast, The Most Valuable Media Placements
- "Business Insider Domain Authority 94" — Digital Third Coast, The Most Valuable Media Placements
- "Journalists respond to 3.43% of PR pitches" — PR Daily, By the numbers: This is how many pitches actually get responses
- "TechCrunch banned pay-for-placement in 2012" — TechCrunch, You Can't Put A Price Tag On A TechCrunch Post
- "Business Insider does not accept promotional or sponsored posts" — Business Insider, How to Write for Business Insider
